Structures may include a coating that is selected based upon the properties provided by the coating to the coated structure. For example, space vehicles may have a carbon loaded polyimide coating, such as Black Kapton®, that provides relatively high emissivity/absorbtivity as well as relatively high conductivity for space environment applications, such as for space vehicles in a low earth orbit (LEO) and/or space vehicles in a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). While Black Kapton® may have a conductivity that is somewhat tailorable, it would be desirable in at least some applications for a coating, such as for a space vehicle, to have a conductivity that is even more tailorable than those coatings that are commercially available.
Space vehicles, particularly those in LEO, are also subjected to the impingement of atomic oxygen (AO), which may erode the surface of a space vehicle if the surface is not sufficiently protected. Black Kapton® coatings cannot generally survive AO environments for an extended period since the Black Kapton® coating is eroded by the AO. While thicker coatings may be employed, the increased coating thickness disadvantageously increases the weight of the space vehicle without providing an additional benefit.
In some instances, it would also be desirable to provide an insulative boundary, such as the insulative polyimide surface of a space vehicle, between an electrical connection and the Black Kapton® coating so as to utilize the Black Kapton® coating as a radiator for the thermal loads from the electrical connection. Insulative polyimide may not be effectively bonded to a Black Kapton® coating since the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion will generally cause the polyimide surface to curl.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved coating having tailorable conductivity, AO properties and thermal radiative properties. In this regard, it would be desirable to provide an improved coating for aerospace vehicles or aeronautical vehicle as well as other applications desirous of improved radiative properties.